Reviews by giblet:

poured almost flat. had to coax a 1/8" head that quickley settled. decent lacing down the glass very fine and sparse carbonation. black in color. smells of roasted malt. tastes decent. a little sweet roasted malt. but actually fairly light and thin overall. that is ok if you want 3-9 of them.

More User Reviews:

Presentation: It was poured from a brown 12oz bottle into a pint glass.

Appearance: The body has a dark brownish color with a slight reddish hue. There is some visible carbonation that flows up to the tall tan head. The head had very good retention and lacing.

Smell: There is a lightly roasted character and sweet malted barley with just a hint of hops.

Taste/Mouth: The flavor has some slight roasted coffee notes with sweet bready and roasted malt notes. Hop flavor is light and brings some mineral/leafy notes to the finish. The finish is rather clean with roasted flavors and hop bitterness fading quickly. The palate is a smooth medium body with just the right amount of carbonation to help clean the palate.

Notes: Overall this is a very enjoyable and very drinkable black lager.

This is the best American dark lager available. It has incredible roasted malt flavor and drinks smooth like a dark lager should. Sure, I would prefer Kostritzer on tap but in the US this is not a real possibility. I actually prefer this beer to the original Kostritzer in the can or bottle and I can afford it as a retired beer lover. At a price point lower than most American adjunct lagers, this flavorful brew is affordable and readily available. Kudos to Pabst for making it available and affordable.

True in scent to what could be expected of a black lager, this brew bears notes of molasses, chocolate malts, coffee and licorice. Wet barley also makes an appearance here, as does a yeasty aroma.

These flavors translate well onto the tongue, though in far greater strength that would be imagined, given the rather light nature of the aromas. Indeed, the first taste of the lager brings a shock of chocolate malts and molasses, layered with coffee and dark fruit esters. These flavors fade fairly quickly, though still maintain a presence throughout the remainder of the mouthful, being especially focused on chocolate malts and black coffee. Some nice dark sugars bounce around in the background, playing gently with roasted grains. Mouthfeel is fairly light, being only slightly more viscous than water.

Overall, this is a good black lager, but I wanted more bite and wildness to it; I found it slightly too watery, and thought the flavors could have been better emphasized and drawn out.

Pours a dark black with ruby highlights when held toward the light, head is light tan forms nicely with a sturdy pour into a tulip chalice from the dollar store. Aroma slight milk chocolate with roasted dark malts and light coffee characteristics. Flavor hits me with a wicked lactic sour note that I wasn't expecting, still has roasted malt dark chocolate with a hint of coffee but there's this wild ripe fruit note with the souring effect I didn't care for in a black lager, but it honestly reminds me of a lighter Stegmaier Porter in a weird way. I think they mixed this recipe with the Penn Dark recipe, because this looks moore like the Penn Dark of old than the newly bottled stuff from the Lion does. Really solid dark lager when said and done and after the slightly sour twang goes away it gets better with each sip. Mouthfeel is creamy with sturdy carbonation a very velvety feel to it all. Drinkability overall is quality impressed to see a decent beer coming from a McSorley's label I remember an Irish Red that was pretty shitty at one point in my drinking career.

Pours one shade from black with a one-finger tan head. The head recedes into a wispy layer on top leaving decent lacing.

Smells of black and roasted malts with hints of dark fruits - dates and raisins mostly.

Tastes similar to how it smells, however the dark fruit flavors are a bit larger than the smell would intimate. Black malt flavors up front with a bit of complexity added by roasted malts. Mild fruit flavors enter into things midway through the sip and fade out before a solidly bitter ending.

Mouthfeel is good. It's a bit on the thin side with moderate carbonation.

Drinkability is alright. I actually got two for the price of one but one was enough for me.

Overall this beer didn't seem terribly clean, and while not terrible it's not worth seeking out.

Pours very dark, but you can see points of light around the edges. When held up to direct light (think desk lamp; who doesn't drink where they work?), it's a deep and clear reddish-brown. Head was thin and coffee-colored, but constant.

Smell is nothing to right home about. I can smell the dark malts, but nothing outstanding.

Tastes of coffee and caramel roasts, right down to the bitterness of a dark cup of joe.

A very creamy head. Some sharpness from the carbonation. Smooth and light.

Very drinkable. At the price and at 5.5% I won't be slamming these down, but I'd be happy to have this with a meal.

Situation: A Good Friday three-meal ender... Glassware: 22 oz. pilsner... Appearance: thin white head sits atop a black body that befits the label and approximates a black and tan appearance... Aroma: sweet burnt aroma that suggests a porter; malts are roasted and hops are subdued... Palate: smooth, slick body--a moderate to full-bodied lager; slight effervescence; a bit creamy too... Taste: a bit toasted in its maltiness; bread notes remind the drinker that this IS a lager... Overall: rather flat and nondescript overall appeal; a bit of a warmer for February and March, but with a bit of sweetness, this can be a nice after-dinner glass

This one is dark brown and looks alot like rootbeer. A substantial, thick mocha colored head with slow dissipation and leaves a small amount of left-over lacy.

Roastie and nutty with caramel in the malt with dry and green herbs. The caramel-like sweetness is pretty up-front in the malt.

The flavor of the malt is more roastie than the aroma with a nice herbal hop flavor to round it out. good balance, with the malt making the most of it and a smooth feel with a dry finish. subtle notes of mild chocolate and tyme ride in at the end. The yeast plays a big role with earthy and sour notes like a decent lager.

Wow this stuff is good. Never heard of it till a local pub picked it up on draft.

A- Very pleasing. Nice black shade, nice frothy head on it that dissipates in a fair amount of time.

S- Burnt aroma, nuts and smoke, plenty of hops. Pretty good. Not a very strong aroma.

T- Seems like it's just a freak. (no negative) it's not quite thick enough for a stout, but a wee heavy to be a black ale. I would compare this to a marriage of 1554 Black Ale and Guinness. Very good taste. More of the burnt/hops taste. A little sweeter than a stout, very close to most black ales really, with some more carbonation added.

D- Very good. I love this stuff for happy hour in the afternoon. That "in-betweeness" makes it very attractive for a stout drinker like me. Not TOO heavy if the weather isn't right or you're just not in the mood, but not water thin either. Rightly nice in the middle. Very, very pleasing find.

Mc Sorley's Irish Black Lager displays a beautiful dark mahogany-brown body beneath a short head of frothy tan. Unfortunately the head retention and lacing are fairly limited.

The nose offers up notes of dark chocolate, a very soft roastiness, and hints of sweetish malt.

The flavor is mainly deeply-caramelish and gently sugary. Some cocoa-ish notes appear along with some nuttiness, but the chocolate suggested by the nose is simply not found except for a suggestion of it in the finish. The roastiness isn't really present in the flavor either, except until the finish. It's balanced by a solid bitterness, and although it appears sweetish at the outset, it finishes quiet dry.

Overall it's a fairly drinkable lager with a nice character, but nothing special.